Large hayrake



Dec. l5, 1953 F. o. WORDEN 2,562,363

LARGE HAYRAKE Filed June 11, 195i s sheets-sheet 1 m @Si kfw m mw w o. s m m @i W@ M m O. \.w im@ UNH i s. F /M m Win Dec. 15, 1953 F, Q, WQRDEN 2,662,363

LARGE HAYRAKE Filed June ll, 1951 5 Sheens-Sheetl 2 e -14 I3 0 "|7 l5 we F IG. 2.

IN V EN TOR. muy@ 0. worden FIG. n4 Eig/MA Mm TTORNEYS F. O. WORDEN LARGE HAYRAKE Dec. l5, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 11, 1951 mum ' INVENTOR Floyd 0 /Vrden ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LARGE HAYRAKE Floyd 0. Worden, Alliance,-Nebr., assigner to Willia Edna Worden, Alliance, Nebr.

The invention relates to a large hay rake.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a large hay rake especially designed for large hay nelds where variations of surface of land and quantities of hay are quite pronounced, and capable of automatically following or adjusting itself to the contour of the ground and adapted also to be reduced in size to enable it to pass through farm gates and other narrow places and also for traveling` along roads, and the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hay rake of this character, of strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction, adapted to be readily made and handled conveniently, in sizes ranging from 16 to 42 feet of rake tooth beam length and various other dimensions thereof, and equipped with hydraulic rams adapted to be operated from the pump of a tractor or analogous means, and capable of raising and lowering the rake tooth beam and the teeth or tines andv of also maintaining them under pressure in contact with the ground.

1t is also an object of the invention to locate the hydraulic rams so that their push and pull may be balanced and to dispose the inner main carrying wheels of the supporting frame a sufficient distance in advance of the rake tooth beam for counter-balancing the weight of the rake tooth beam and the teeth thereof, and with the axis of the outer carrying wheels in substantial alignment with the rake tooth beam.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a large hay rake composed of a main central section and end sections hingedly connected to the central section and adapted to be swung inwardly and outwardly with relation to the same to enable the end sections to form continuations of the central section for raking hay and also for reducing the width of the hay rake.

Another object of the invention is to equip the hinged end sections with end wheels adapted when the end sections are mounted for inward and rearward swinging to be adjusted to an angle of 90 to position them in substantial alignment or parallelism with the main wheels for traveling over the ground and for supporting the end sections in their folded position.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a large hay rake constructed in accordance with this invention and shown arranged for operation;

Fig. 2 is a similar View, the end sections being folded rearwardly for compactness;

Fig. 3 is a plan view broken away at parts and showing in full lines the rake arranged for operation and illustrating in dotted lines the end sections in their folded position;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional View on an enlarged scale taken substantially on the line f-i-i of Fig. 3 illustrating the arrangement of the hydraulic ram and showing the connection between the same and the rake tooth beam;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view with parts shown in horizontal section illustrating the arrangement of the associated universal joints for hinging the sections of the rake tooth beam together and for hingedly connecting the seotions of the main frame;

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional View taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 1-7 of Fig. 3 illustrating one arrangement of hinge connection between the rake tooth beam and the main frame;

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the rake tooth beam illustrating the arrangement of the eyes of the hinge connection;

Fig. 9 is a detail View of a portion of the main frame and the hinge leaf or bracket which cooperates with the eyes of rake tooth beam to form a hinge;

Fig. 10 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line iii-l0 of Fig. 3 illustrating the manner of mounting the stub axle of the main supporting wheel;

Fig. 11 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line iI-I of Fig. 3 illustrating the marmer of adiustably mounting the stub axle of the end wheel;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line i2-l2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a detail elevation partly in section of the supporting means for the end wheel;

Fig. 14 is a detail exploded view of a coupling for adjustably hitching the rake to a tractor;

Fig. l5 is a detail perspective View showing a slightly modified arrangement of the lifting arm on the rake tooth supporting beam and the hydraulic ram.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the large hay rake comprises in its construction a main supporting frame l and a rake tooth beam 2 provided with standard or any other desired type of rake teeth or tines 3 and hinged to the supporting frame for upward and downward movement for raising and lowering the rake teeth. l

The main 'supporting frame comprises in its construction a rear frame bar 4, a front frame bar 5 and end bars 6 welded or otherwise secured to the rear and front bars 4 and 5 to form a rig-id frame structure which is braced by central forwardly diverging bracing members l, intermediate braces 8 and corner braces 9, all `preferably constructed of rectangular' tubing, bolted, welded or otherwise secured together. The front bar 5 has a central portion forwardly offset from the 'end portions thereof and carrying a short tongue I rigidly secured at rear end to the front bar 5 wind supported at opposite sides .by .forward-ly converging braces H welded :or-.otherwise secured at their rear ends to the front face vof the front ybar and 'similarly secured to the .short tongue intermfiediately of the ends thereof.

The short tongue .is adapted 'to 'be hitched :to atractor 'byine'ans of a vertically adjustable coupling l2 which may be of any desired Vconstrucltionand which is -carried by -a vvertically adjustable plate lf3 secured 'by bolts or other suitable 'fastening devices tofa fixed vertical plate I4 rigidly secured to lthe front-end of the short tongue. The plates vl 3 and -i lare rectangular and are provided at their opposite vertical edges with spaced lperforations yl and ES yfor the reception ofbolts II extending lthrough registering perforations of the plates I@ and l4'a'ndsecuring the coupling l2 1in its vertical adjustment.

The rake tooth beam `preferably consists of an angle bar, `Lshaped in ncross section, as clearly lillustrated in Figs. 7 -and 8 of the drawings, and 4'it is provided at intervals'exteriorlyof -its angle with spaced eyes le which are adapted to receive between 'them eyes i9 of Abrackets or leaf plates bolted or otherwise secured to the rear face of the rear framebar 4. The eyes It' and lil-regils'ter an'dreceiv'e pintlesZ-l whereby the rake tooth ibeam is Qhingedly mounted on the supporting frame for vertical swinging movement to Yraise Landlower'the rake teeth which may be mounted onthera-ke tooth beamin any suitable manner.

The ralceteeth areraised and-lowered by means 'of Zhydraulic rams 212 which may be located exterlorly of ktheend'bars 'tof the supporting lframe "andhave their pis'tons`23connected by aballand socket joint 24 with lifting arms ZSeXtendingupwardly from the lrake itooth'beam, lbut the `hydraulic rams and the arms 25 ofthe raketooth beam may `be arranged in any'other desired Kmanner with relation to the supporting frame, as Ywill be readily understood. For instance, the "hydraulic rams 4may be-carri'ed by the end sections 'of the supportingframe andthe 'lifting arms 25 may extend downwardly from the rake :tooth ibeam"forconnectionwith the'hydraulic ram 22a as illustrated in Fig. i5 of the'drawings. When "thehydraulicrams "are carried bythe vouter sections'of the supporting frame any suitable'means such 'as brackets may vbe provided for pivotally 'mounting the cylinders of the hydraulic rams.

'from the end bars '6 and any suitable adjusting means may be .provided for rigidly securing the vhydraulic rams 'in'lateral adjustment on pivots 26. Instead of employing a ball and socket joint, any other form of pivotal connection may be provided for effecting a pivotal or hinge connection between the pistons of the hydraulic rams and the rake tooth beam. The rams are connected at their ends by pipe lines 28 and 29 with a tractor or other pump, not shown, as will be readily understood, and the hydraulic rams, which are adapted to raise and lower the rake teeth, are also employed for maintaining the rake teeth in pressure engagement with the ground.

.'Ihe rear bar 4 of the main supporting frame and the rake tooth beam are provided With end extensions .or sections 30 and 3| which may be of any desired length to provide a large hay rake having a rake tooth beam of from 16 to 42 feet in length, or other dimensions, and the end sections 3l of the rear bar 4 and the end sections 3| of the rake tooth beam 2 are hingedly connected, preferably by universal joints 32 and 33, each consisting of a central bearing block v34 of .general circular formation, and approximately .Ll-shaped members and 36 set at right angles to each other and connected to the bearing block by pins 3l and 38 -having their axes arranged in the same transverse plane. In constructing the universal joint, the block 34 is rst drilled to provide one pin open-ing which is threaded at 35 to receive one of .the pins which is threaded and secured in the threaded opening. The block, with the threaded pin therein, is then bored at right angles to the threaded opening and the other -pin .is passed therethrough and maybe secured therein and in openings of the associated member by any suitable means, such as peening or the like. .The pins .31 and 38 have terminal .journal portions which are arranged in openings of the members of the universal joint and pivotally connect themembers .35 and 36 to the block 3ft.

The .end-sections of the rake tooth beam and the rear bar f4 tof the supporting frame with the rake teeth :constitute end sections of the vrake which yare ,adapted to be arranged in lalignment vwith -the neutral :section thereof and V.which .are

, :also adapted .to ;be swung Yrearwardly from zthe axis of 'such pivotal movement yand in lorder .to ena-ble the =end=sections of the rear frame Lbar lltopivotin conformity with the end sections :of

`the rake toothibeam, one of themembers ofeach of the universal joints y of `the supporting .frame lis VLprovided with -an lextension 4'0 which 4may be Vround, square for lany -polygonal shape in cross section VJand which `constitutes a slide and is velidably mounted in 'a guide 4 I mounted -in each end-'of thecentra'l sectionof the rear bar '4. `In

th'e A:swinging imovement of the end portions 4of 'thera-ke'the `tlidese'til move inwardly andeutwardly in the guides '4l and th'ereby-enable'the vend `sections. `of -the 'rear bar lto swing or pivot `with the endsectionsof"the'rake tooth beam.

'The end sections 'of kthe `rake l are maintained in alignment with Mthe central section of 'the 'rake "bymeans of 'forwardlyiconverging bracerods "42 'detachably secured at'their front 'ends by :bolts "43 to perforated 'lugspr .eyes 44 extending from their theterminal portions of the'front frame barl 5, as

clearly illustrated in Figs. 1 and sof the drawings. The outer or rear ends of the'brace rods 42 are secured by bolts 45 to lugs 46 projecting from the extensions 3u at the outer portions thereof. The bolts 45 form pivots which permit the brace rods to fold against the extensions 30 of the rear frame bar 4 when the front ends of the brace rods 4112 are detached from the projecting lugs or ears frame in counterbalancing the same and the rake teeth.

The hinged side portions of the rake are supported by end wheels 52 which are rubber tired and are of the pneumatic type and are of the same diameter as the central main wheels 4l. The end wheels are mounted on journals of stub axles 54 provided with upwardly extending arms 55 journaled for rotary adjustment in vertical cylindrical' sockets 56 formed of metal tubing and arranged within vertical posts 5l of end supports each consisting of the said posts 5l and an upper horizontal connecting member and a lower inclined bracing member 59, which are welded or otherwise secured to each of the end sections Sil of the rear frame bar 4. rEhe pivotal mountings of the stub axles 54 permit the Wheels 52 to be positioned in parallelism with the main wheels 4l when the rake is arranged `for operation as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings, and also to be turned at right angles to arrange them in parallelism with the main wheels when the side sections of the rake are folded inwardly and rearwardly into the folded or contracted position illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The stub axles are secured in either of said positions by means of bolts 50 which are arranged in bolt openings El and 62 of arcuate plates 63 and S4 rigidly affixed to the lower ends of the posts 5l and to the stub axles 54. The plates 63 and 64 t flat against each other and the removable bolts 60 permit the end wheels to be arranged in either of said positions. Instead of providing means for i'ixedly securing the stub axles in xed relation to the vertical posts 5l, caster wheels may be provided for enabling the end wheels to adjust themselves automatically to the position of the end sections of the rake which in practice are preferably arranged to permit more than a 90 pivotal adjustment. Also, instead of positioning the stub axles 54 of the outer wheels 52 in substantial alignment with the rake tooth beam, they may be rearwardly offset with relation to the same.

Any suitable cleaner rods or other means may be employed for removing hay accumulated between the teeth of the rake.

I claim:

1. A hay rake comprising a rake tooth supporting beam having a central section and end se"- tions pivoted thereto about substantially vertical pivots, a mobile supporting frame comprising a central section and end sections, sai-d frame sections being substantially coextensive, respectively, with said beam sections and respectively hingedly connected thereto about horizontal pivots, said frame sections having pivoted and Aextensible interconnecting means, and brace ots, said frame sectionsV having pivoted and extensible interconnecting means, and brace means interconnecting said end frame sections and said central frame section, whereby when said brace means are released said end sections may be pivoted to reduce the overall width of the rake, and means mounted on the central section of the supporting frame operatively connected with the rake tooth supporting beam for rocking the same about said horizontal pivots to raise or lower the rake teeth thereof.

3. A hay rake comprising a rake tooth supporting beam havinga central section and end sections pivoted thereto about substantially vertical pivots, a mobile supporting frame comprising a central section and end sections,.said frame sections being substantially coextensive, respectively, with said beam sections and respectively hingedly connected thereto about horizontal pivots, said frame sections having pivoted and extensible interconnecting means, and brace means interconnecting said end frame sections and said central frame section, whereby when said brace means are released said end sections may be pivoted to reduce the overall width of the rake, and means mounted on the central section of the supporting frame operatively connected with the rake tooth supporting beam for rocking the same about said horizontal pivots to raise or lower the rake teeth thereof, said last mentioned means comprising arms on the rake tooth supporting beam located near opposite sides of the central section of the supporting frame and a hydraulic ram mounted on the central section of the supporting frame at each side thereof extending alongside the same and pivotally connected with the adjacent arm on the rake tooth supporting beam.

4. A hay rake of the construction donned in claim 1 and in which the pivotal connections of the end sections of the rake tooth Supporting beam to the central section thereof each consists of a universal joint comprising a block, pins mounted on the block and arranged at right angles to each other, and a pair of approximately U-shaped members having bearing openings in free end portions thereof receiving said pins whereby the U-shaped members are connected to said block for pivotal movement.

5. A hay rake of the construction defined in claim 1 and in which the pivoted and extensible interconnecting means between the supporting frame sections includes a universal joint.

6. A hay rake of the construction defined in claim 1 and in which the pivoted and extensible interconnecting means between the supporting frame sections comprises a universal joint having its inner end slidably mounted for limited movement longitudinally of the central section of the supporting frame.

,71. ,A hay reke the @extinction sieiined in claim 1 :and @wherein the oentrel section :of :the supporting :frame :has .et each ,end thereof :a ,fion- .eitudinally extending, itnloularmooring., :and wherein .the niroted andextenshle interconneet `ine means .between thesnnmnting. rame sections comprises a, universal joint having at one fend Ithereof ,a rod ,extensionslidablyxngasing I.one of the tubular 'bearings at @ne fend. of :the .central lsection .of the supporting imma 8, AA .hay ,rake comme :a .reke tooth fsup porting beam having a. nentxzailarection tend; end sections pix/.ated thereto substantially ver tical pivots, .a mobile swimming imameicomprisf ine a central section. andren!! .sections-samen ame `sections rye., :respectirely, with said 4lucanisections; :and: .rfesnectively hneediy connected therietn snout; lionizontalmivnts, Asaid frame sectionsarhaxma miveted andv ex.P tensibleinterconnectins andbracefmeans vinterconnecting saidndxtramezseetionszand.said central, traine, section,.,wzhereloisv when said :brace means are vremoiredssalti cmiseicmfmay @hez'DW- cited` to reduce the. Qi/crane tof; the reke, s. ipairviof mainewheelsoxnduixtedmmnndisnnnortf ing the central section of thesunponting-frame, end wheels ,on the endsections @tithe/supporting trame `attireouter ends thereof; and mounting -meansfor the :end :wheels 'rmoridinerifor positioning the :latter narallelsm; :with said'. main wheels :when .the end.,sections. of; the :raise tooth supporting. fbeam .are ein .operative position. fin alignment with the :camelamtionxtheneoforware moved .out .of .operative 'minion tto, ,reducen :the width ofthe-rake.

9. A hay rakeoff-the construction defined-:in

claim f8 and wherein :thefmonntingemeansiior'the end wheels .includesustub nulos, mmvided. xwith spindles `and having venticalwarms 'ioimnaihedgin the emil sections-of' the .supporting frame, and fastening means,v ffor igidly- .securing- :the Vstirb axles lin a, yposition extendingwlonntndinallyrof .the fend :sections `of ithe supporting iframe v,when the flatter are .in 'operative position inalignment twith the central .section of :the same yand also forsecuring athe stubaxles in a'position extending at right angles to `.the tend sections `of .the supporting ,frame when the latter are positioned to reduce the Wdthof the rake.

:10. vr1L-hay rake `of Ithe construction -dened ein claim 1 and which has means connected with the central section of the supporting frame ,operatively Aconnected withzthe rake tooth 'supporting beam for rocking ,the same about ,thehorizontal pivots .to Yraise or lower the rake teeth ithereof, fsadd :last mentioned ,means comprising arms :on the rake. -tooth supporting beamiextending idown- Awardly therefromat-oppositesides of the :central ,sectioniof Vthe supporting frame, and a hydraulic ram lat each side ,of the central section -of the supporting `frame A:pivotally connectedl ,at one end with ,the adjacent downwardly .extending a-rm on the rake tooth supporting beam and pivotally .connected Aat its vother lend .with the central section of the supporting frame, said hydraulic Arams each being disposed below the horizontal plane `of the central section of the-supporting frame.

FLOYD O. WORDEN.

References VCited in the Ille of this ,patixi UNITED .STATES .PATENTS Number Name Date 71,875 Hawkey Dec. ,'10, 41867 l260,056 Shields June 27, 1'882 965,110 Howe July '19, 1910 1,272,567 rvSwan .,July 16,. 1918 1,927,458 Klise ,'Sept; 1'9, 1933 2,526,028 Johnson Oct'. 17, 1'9'50 '2,533,417 Barnes Dec. 12, l1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 'Number Country Date 47,374 'Een-mark May 29, '11933 

